It’s always cool when I get to meet other people who share my first name.
It’s even cooler is when that person is a nationally acclaimed author and an all-around fantastic person.
I had the privilege of meeting Laura Dave in Chicago two years ago. She came to our office to discuss her first novel, London Is The Best City In America (fabulous, by the way).
And, I just finished her most recent novel, The Divorce Party.
In addition, Dave’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Glamour, Self, Redbook and The New York Observer. And, in August 2008, Cosmopolitan named her as one of the eight “Fun and Fearless Phenoms” of 2008.
The Divorce Party is a fictional tale set in the Hamptons, featuring the voices of two women, Gwyn and Maggie, facing challenges in their relationships with the men in their life. The novel is centered around a divorce party – which is actually a growing trend that acknowledges divorce in a celebratory way, honoring the positive past of a couple.
Laura Dave has a magical way with words. The novel explores the inner thoughts of not only the two female protagonists, but also intricately characterizes their male companions (Nate and Thomas) in a fair and real way. The interactions among them all just make sense. Using humor, wit, and dialogue that fit together like puzzle pieces, Dave makes The Divorce Party poignant and down to earth.
Honestly, I actually felt like I was a part of the story at every turn. And for me, the book was even a bit educational. I couldn’t put it down (as you’ll see in the interview below) and even underlined parts of the book that I want to go back to.
One more cool part worth mentioning: The Divorce Party has already been optioned by Jennifer Aniston’s production company. Wow.
I was extremely excited that Laura and I recently reconnected to chat about The Divorce Party and the evolution of her writing career and experiences.
Laura Cococcia: I absolutely loved The Divorce Party – I literally could not put it down, except for when I had to go to bed! What was the most rewarding part about the process of writing The Divorce Party?
Laura Dave: When I sit down to write, I don’t know how a novel is going to end. I start with a question–and go about the hard and fun work of getting to know my characters and figuring out how they are going to answer that question for themselves.
In The Divorce Party, I had two main characters–a woman struggling to begin a marriage, and another woman trying to gracefully end hers–both asking the question: how hard should I fight for the person I love? It was very rewarding to see them both find the answer to the question that was ultimately going to lead to their happiness.
Laura Cococcia: Your first book, London Is the Best City In America, is another one of my favorites. You’ve received notable acclaim for both novels – did you ever imagine you’d achieve such success?
Laura Dave: I have always loved writing, since I was a little girl. And, now, I wake up every day (or almost every day!) grateful that I get to do it for a living. I love getting notes from readers, love talking to book clubs. It is such a great gift, I can’t begin to express it.
I also always say that no matter what happens with the next book, I will still be writing and reading every morning. Trying to tell stories. It’s just what I love to do most.
Laura Cococcia: When did you know you wanted to be a writer? Did you ever think you’d have a different career path?
Laura Dave: When I was in college, I played with the idea of becoming a lawyer. And a philosopher. And a scientist. And just about everything else that allowed me to consider changing my major a hundred times!
But, in a serious way, all I ever wanted to do was write. I wrote my first story when I was in third grade. It was called Runaway Cruise. Ever since then, I’ve been hooked on telling stories.
Laura Cococcia: From your experience, what words of wisdom can you offer other writers who are looking to publish their own books, articles or even blogs? How can we keep improving our writing?
Laura Dave: Writing is rewriting. No one in the history of the world has ever written a perfect tome in one take. So be easy on yourself. Write the first draft for you, and you alone, without worrying about whether anything you’re coming up with is good. Those kind of concerns are important for the second draft or the fifth or the fifteenth.
But your only responsibility with the first draft is to get your story out, and to keep going. Keeping going is half the battle—get up early a few mornings a week, go to a writers conference, carve out time on the weekend. Find a way to do that, and the rest will start to take care of itself.
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Never one to skimp on emphasizing important points, I truly encourage you to check out The Divorce Party and get back to us on what you think.
To read more about Laura Dave, you can visit her at: www.lauradave.com.
And, to read more about The Divorce Party, here’s the link to the book’s Amazon.com page.
Thanks Laura – can’t wait to see what comes next!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Great to see this interview, Laura! I loved Laura's first book and have been meaning to get to The Divorce Party – I'll speed it up!
The Divorce Party was fantastic! Reading it with my book club soon.
@Mary T – let us know your thoughts after you read it. I guarantee you will love it!
@kk – I'm glad you liked it too – really looking forward to hearing what your book club thinks!
I will have to check Laura Dave's work now. Divorce is a hot topic – have you seen Sandra Tsing Loh's "Let's Call the Whole Thing Off" from the current issue of The Atlantic?
I thought it was interesting that Ms. Dave said she doesn't know her ending when she begins a novel. In my process I know the beginning and end, but have no idea how I'll get there. Great interview!
@Dawn Maria – I haven't yet read Sandra Tsing Loh's piece, but I will definitely look for it tomorrow! I love the different viewpoints the authors give about the writing process – so different for everyone! I especially liked Laura's comment that she "starts with a question."